Looking back on 2011, it was a rather fit year. I absolutely love being active, and since my love/hate relationship with running strengthened this year, it was cool to look back today and see how far I've come. 

I taught approximately 150 Jazzercise classes this year, which is huge. I love teaching Jazz because some of the best people I've ever met are there. Jazzercisers are like another family. And I adore them. :) 

When I ordered my subscription to Runner's World, a training log accompanied it. I started keeping track of my mileage so I could see how much I was running. And the grand total (including the eight miles I'll be running tomorrow) was 271 miles. That's an average of five miles a week, which I think is pretty great considering I didn't even start running until the spring. It's kind of cool to look back and see what I've accomplished so far... and it's a good indicator that I can keep going. 

I hope 2012 brings all of you happiness, good health, and love. And here's to even more miles next year for all of us... and a GREAT Februray 26th! 

Happy New Year, all! 

A day at the hospital

This is a non-running related post. And I should mention that I'm sleep deprived. 

This morning started at the crack of dawn -- 5 a.m. when I woke up to meet my parents at Memorial Hospital. My mom, the greatest woman I know, has been having chest pains for the past few months and after a few stress tests and EKG's, things were still inconclusive. The doctor ordered a heart cathedarization (how does one spell that?), and today was the day. We arrived at 6 a.m. and got mom registered and around 7:20, the nurse came to wheel her in to surgery. My dad and I said quick goodbyes (because real goodbyes at that point would have been just too difficult) and mom went through the double doors on her hospital bed. Dad and I went to breakfast in the hospital and tried to have appetites. 

Thankfully, about an hour and a half later came the news that mom was more than okay -- we had a best case scenario. No blockages, no stints (stents?), no angioplasty... just a small artery that might be causing her some chest pain. Her doctor decided to switch one of her medications and asked to see her in the new year. 

The next six hours were spent with mom on bed rest, followed by two hours of walking around (presumably to make sure she didn't blow up or have a limb fall off or something). Around 5, we were finally able to put her in her pj's and leave the hospital and when I left their house twenty minutes ago, she was comfortably resting on the couch. 

I would love to tell you that today reminded me how important ones health is... and it did. Health is one of those things people tend to take for granted until it's gone, and only then do we really notice it's missing. 

Today also reminded me how lucky I am to have parents who truly love one another. Their example has been the best one I could have ever asked for, and one I want to live up to someday. 

But mostly today reminded me how lucky I am to have my mom. My mom and I have a special, unique relationship, one that I don't think is common even among mothers and daughters. Not everyone can say they have a mom who is also their best friend. 

I can say that. And mean it. 

Thoughts on the dreadmill

After having a super productive morning, I feel a lazy afternoon coming on. Therefore, I better write now, or risk not doing it at all today. 

I woke up at 6 a.m. today to head to La Porte to teach Jazzercise. After class, I ate approximately two bites of banana and a packet of Gu and hopped on the dreadmill for a six-mile jaunt. Although there wasn't snow on the ground, it was still dark outside, so I thought an inside run would be best today. 

I tried to mentally prepare myself for the run using anything I could. These are my tried and true surviving the dreadmill tricks. 

1. I run slower. I normally try to gain speed when I'm on the treadmill, but I decided today I'd run slower and longer instead. It made me feel less like death. Win. 

2. Gum. This goes for all running for me. I. Need. Gum. I need something for my mouth to do besides sing (which I do, sometimes). If I don't have gum, the run will not last long. Spearmint seems to be my go to flavor. I stay away from anything fruity or desserty (Sidenote: That was a LOT of sentences about gum. THAT'S how important it is to me.).

3. If you are lucky, like me, there will be a dent in the wall in front of you. Find the dent. Love the dent. Talk to the dent. Stare deeply at the dent. Imagine the dent being anything you need it to be. For me, I need a focus. When I'm outside, I can focus on my thoughts. On the treadmill, all I focus on is how I'm feeling. The dent saves me from myself. 

4. Get any sort of distractions you can. Turn on the t.v. Run the fan. Turn your iPod up extremely loud. Pray, that like me, there will be people or puppies passing by you. Distracting myself from the numbers on the machine I'm running on is always helpful. 

5. Shuffle the iPod. I sort of like not knowing what's coming next. That being said, I run with my iPod in my hand so I can change the songs easily if it's something that's not motivating me to keep moving. 

6. Thank your cheerleaders. Today, my friend Nancy was walking on the treadmill next to me. When I got to mile 5.3, she said, "You can do it, you're almost there!" I needed that boost to remember that I was, in fact, almost done (6 miles, you have nothing on me!). When I got done, Janet and I commiserated about treadmill running but agreed it was a necessary evil. Find your people. Hold onto them tightly. 

7. Reward yourself. On days you run 6 miles on the treadmill (which, naturally, feels more like 12 miles), you deserve a giant latte afterward. Hell, go nuts and have a cookie while you're at it! I'm not usually an advocate for rewarding yourself with food (I pretty much eat food without needing it to be a reward!) but when you do a treadmill run, you get a little pampering, darnit. 

Take my advice with a grain of salt. What works for others doesn't work for me, and vice versa. 

I'm gearing up for my eight miles on Saturday, which will hopefully be done outside. But for the rest of the day, I'm thinking Christmas celebrations, rest, and the couch sound pretty perfect. 

Bodies and guts

So the sayings goes, "Trust your gut," and, "Listen to your body." In theory, these sound like good ideas. Go with your feelings. Trust how you feel. Simple, right? 

Sorta. 

I am a firm believer in trusting ones gut. It has been my experience that if my gut tells me something is off, it's for good reason. What does this look like? This is most easily evidenced in my love life. For instance, early in 2011, I was dating a man who also happened to be my neighbor. Mistake. Big one. 

All was right until I went out of town for spring break. I came back to a man with darting eyes and nervous words. Highly suspect. My gut kicked in even while I was gone, telling me something seemed off with him and the way we were communicating. When we broke up, he told me he thought we were moving too fast. 

Eight weeks later, he got married. 

THAT is trusting your gut -- KNOWING that something is off and TRUSTING it. This has happened to me on numerous occasions with small things. Going one way instead of another... choosing one thing over another... saying nothing instead of something or something instead of nothing. 

For the past several months, my gut has been silent. At first, I was worried I'd lost my knack for knowing. Does it go away after awhile, this ability to trust your core? 

But, I started thinking about it today, and realized that maybe it's just that I'm right where I'm supposed to be... and that maybe I should do a little less overanalyzing and a little more listening to my body. 

With running, I have to know when it's time to take a break and listen to my body. Sometimes that means speeding up. Other times, that means slowing down. The past two weeks have been lighter running weeks for me, and boy did I need it heading in to the holidays. I feel like I'm ready to kick it back up a notch, which is good, because 2012 is looming ever closer. 

As for trusting my gut in life, I am. Stay tuned. :) 

Merry Christmas!

This morning I ran four miles at my cousin Amanda's house. I got lost on the way home, but luckily made my way back through Birmingham and found her place okay. Phew. It would've sucked to have gotten lost this soon after Christmas. While running, I saw a purple bricked house. BRIGHT PURPLE. And the bricks were shiny. For some reason, this reminded me of Disney, and got me excited about the half. Only 59 more days! 

This afternoon was my cousin Jessica's baby shower. This will be the second baby in the family (Jack is due February 5) and her sister Jamie will be having a girl on May 5, giving us baby #3. It was a marathon of a baby shower, lasting over three hours. Luckily, we had pasta for lunch which gave us a chance to carb up. 

I know I've said it before, but my family is the most fantastic group of people around. There's always so much love and happiness and laughter in whatever room we're in. We're very, very lucky to be able to see each other on the holidays. 

And now, a shameless plug for my super cute baby cousin Kayla. Sweetest. Baby. Ever!

I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Christmas! 

Things that have changed

Things that have changed because of half marathon training: 

Christmas Eve

Last year: Consisted of waking up, being lazy, and eating a giant breakfast, lunch, dinner, and second dinner. Then I ate my body weight in cookies. 

This year: Consisted of waking up, running 7 miles, and THEN eating a giant breakfast, lunch, dinner, second dinner, and ton of cookies. 

Water Intake

Before: About 10 glasses a day. 

After: Approximately 40 gallons a day. 

Calorie Intake

Before: About 1200-1500 a day if I was being good, or 2200-3000 if I was eating for fun.

After: Who knows. Who cares! The running makes calories disappear! 

Weather

Before: If it was under 40 degrees, you could find me bundled up wearing everything I own and complaining about the cold the entire time. Or, not leaving the house. 

After: If it is under 40 degrees, I will willingly go run around outside for an hour or more wearing skin tight clothing. 

Hills

Before: There are no hills in Northern Indiana.

After: There are a CRAP TON of hills on the west side of South Bend. Believe it. 

Shoes

Before: Heels. High heels. Maybe kitten heels, if I was going to work. 

After: Flats, flats, and more flats, in addition to sneakers as much as possible. 

Running clothes

Before: Free t-shirts from various vendors and yoga pants that were too short to teach Jazzercise in.

After: Moisture wicking everything. Plus fleece headbands, gloves, and really, really expensive socks. 

Money 

Before: Spent on bills, going out to eat, shopping, and friends. 

After: Spent on running magazines, running books, shoes, clothes, and other gear. Oh, and still bills. 

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! 

A post about Rheumatoid Arthritis

Today, I thought I should share with you 22 facts about Arthritis. It's a good reminder to me that I'm incredibly lucky to be an active, functioning, happy young adult, who just happens to suffer from RA. :) 

1. 1 in 5 adults living in the United States reports having doctor-diagnosed arthritis.

2. Half of those Americans afflicted with arthritis do not think anything can be done to help them.
3. Arthritis literally means inflammation of the joints.  However, some forms of arthritis inflame more than just joints and some cause very little inflammation.
4. There are over 100 different types of arthritis, each differing widely in progression, cause, symptoms and method of treatment.  The most common type of arthritis is osteoarthritis, affecting an estimated 21 million people.
5. The cause of most types of arthritis is unknown.
6. More women than men are afflicted with arthritis.
7. All age groups are affected by arthritis, including about 300,000 children.
8. 8.4 million adults between the ages of 18 and 44 have arthritis.
9. More than half of those affected with arthritis are under age 65.
10. Rheumatoid Arthritis, the second most common form of arthritis, occurs when the body’s immune system reacts against its own joint linings, causing painful inflammation.
11. An estimated 0.3 to 1.5 percent of the U.S. population has rheumatoid arthritis.
12. Most individuals with rheumatoid arthritis are between the ages of 20 and 40.
13. People who are more than ten pounds overweight have an elevated risk of developing arthritis, especially in weight-bearing joints such as the knees.
14. Rheumatoid arthritis, the most common chronic inflammatory arthritis, accounts for 22% of all deaths due to arthritis.
15. Rheumatoid arthritis is also among the most serious and disabling types of arthritis because it strikes multiple joints, follows an unpredictable course and has no known cure.
16. One of the most common symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis is fatigue.
17.  Arthritis pain can be caused by factors such as inflammation, damage to joint tissues, fatigue, depression or stress.
18. Many forms of arthritis are systemic, i.e., they are not limited to the joints.  In such diseases, practically any organ of the body may be affected, including the heart, lungs, kidneys and skin.
19. Fewer than 50% of people with rheumatoid arthritis who were working at the onset of the disease are still working 10 years later.
20. About 60.7% of those diagnosed with arthritis are women (25.9 million), while 39.3% are men (16.8 million). 
21. Regular exercise is an essential tool in managing arthritis. 
22. Arthritis affects animals, too.  One in every five dogs in the United States has arthritis.

Oh, AND, Lucille Ball was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis at 17. Me too. :)